Disease

[B2MG_HUMAN] Defects in B2M are the cause of hypercatabolic hypoproteinemia (HYCATHYP) [MIM:241600]. Affected individuals show marked reduction in serum concentrations of immunoglobulin and albumin, probably due to rapid degradation.[1] Note=Beta-2-microglobulin may adopt the fibrillar configuration of amyloid in certain pathologic states. The capacity to assemble into amyloid fibrils is concentration dependent. Persistently high beta(2)-microglobulin serum levels lead to amyloidosis in patients on long-term hemodialysis.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Function

[CD1A_HUMAN] Antigen-presenting protein that binds self and non-self lipid and glycolipid antigens and presents them to T-cell receptors on natural killer T-cells.[15][16][17] [B2MG_HUMAN] Component of the class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Involved in the presentation of peptide antigens to the immune system.

Evolutionary Conservation

Publication Abstract from PubMed

CD1a is expressed on Langerhans cells (LCs) and dendritic cells (DCs), where it mediates T cell recognition of glycolipid and lipopeptide antigens that contain either one or two alkyl chains. We demonstrate here that CD1a-restricted T cells can discriminate the peptide component of didehydroxymycobactin lipopeptides. Structure analysis of CD1a cocrystallized with a synthetic mycobactin lipopeptide at 2.8 A resolution further reveals that the single alkyl chain is inserted deep within the A' pocket of the groove, whereas its two peptidic branches protrude along the F' pocket to the outer, alpha-helical surface of CD1a for recognition by the TCR. Remarkably, the cyclized lysine branch of the peptide moiety lies in the shallow F' pocket in a conformation that closely mimics that of the alkyl chain in the CD1a-sulfatide structure. Thus, this structural study illustrates how a single chain lipid can be presented by CD1 and that the peptide moiety of the lipopeptide is recognized by the TCR.